Old Main Library becomes 122 Ocean

By Joe Light,The Times-Union,

The old Main Library has a new owner.

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When the contract closed on Monday and the city received a $3.25 million wire transfer from a private developer on Tuesday morning, the wild ride of the old Main Library's final years in city control reached an end.

Now, Main Branch LLC, a partnership of several downtown property owners and businessmen, owns the structure and plans to convert it into an office and retail center, dubbed 122 Ocean.

The transfer of the building from public to private ownership was a long road. The city requested bids on the site from developers as the new Main Library was being completed and picked The Atkins Group as the winner in July 2005. Atkins wanted to tear down the library to build condominiums but walked away from the deal after a financing dispute with the city.

City officials turned to runner-up Peterbrooke Chocolatier, a local candy company that wanted to turn the building into a chocolate factory. That deal fell through when Peterbrooke officials found environmental clean-up would cost more than expected.

The city briefly planned to hold the library for storage and other functions, but eventually negotiated a contract with second-runner up, Main Branch.

So far, Main Branch has revealed a prospective tenant mix that includes a grocery store, bars, and a furniture store. Another possibility on the table is a four-screen movie theater, though negotiations with many tenants are ongoing.

Main Branch partner Tony Allegretti said that 122 Ocean is scheduled to host a couple events, including a film festival in May, but that after the festival, the group would begin major renovation work. He said Main Branch would now work to secure the financing needed for construction but that he wasn't anticipating any problems.

Although Main Branch doesn't have performance timelines within which they must start work, the private market should motivate them to act quickly, said Jacksonville Economic Development Commission executive director Ron Barton.

"They've got a substantial investment now and a real estate asset that they need to perform. No one's going to be motivated to sit on the product with that kind of investment," he said.